Doctors told her she needed amputation surgery on both feet, her left arm, and three fingers on her right hand due to the extreme blood loss caused by the sepsis.

Ms Babington, who is now in hospital while she awaits the surgery, said: 'My feet and one of my hands are just dead. I can't move them at all.

'I can feel and move my arm from the wrist down, but the fingers are black and numb. I'm going to need three or four operations.'

She added: 'I'm going to be disabled for life and there's no avoiding that. We're going to have to move, I'm going to need a ground-floor house.

'The main thing is that I'm still alive. This sort of illness is extremely rare in adults and we still don't know what's caused it. 

'Not many people can say they've beaten it, so in a way I'm very lucky.

 

Doctors told her she needed amputation surgery on both feet, her left arm, and three fingers on her right hand due to the extreme blood loss caused by the sepsis

'I'm looking on the bright side. Where's feeling sorry for myself going to get me? I still have family and friends and two wonderful children to look after.

'I'm going to fight this fight and get through this recovery so I can get back to my children and normality.'

She said her son took the news badly at first, but she reminded him that having a mother with plastic legs was better than not having one at all.

Ms Babington was shopping when she started to get back-ache.

The pain was so bad she couldn't walk so she decided to go home but when she got to the car she turned cold and jittery.

Her eyes were swollen, her face had turned blue and she had breathing difficulties. 

She recalled: 'The next morning I said to my daughter, I don't think I can manage taking you to school today. She said "never mind school mum, you need an ambulance!"' 

Daughter Katie, 10, and son Shaun, 12, called for an ambulance, and she was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital A&E, where she fell into a coma.

Her kidneys failed and she was put on life support and a kidney filter machine for 23 days while doctors worked to save her life.

But she said she was devastated when she woke up from her coma and found out she had missed her son's birthday.

A fundraiser has been set up by her friends to support the family while she is unable to work, and can be found online at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/wendy-wild

 

Ms Babington, who is now in hospital while she awaits the surgery, said: 'My feet and one of my hands are just dead. I can't move them at all'

 

 

 

WHAT IS PNEUMOCOCCAL SEPSIS?

Pneumococcal sepsis, also referred to as blood poisoning or septicaemia, is a potentially life-threatening condition triggered by an infection or injury.

In sepsis, the body's immune system goes into overdrive as it tries to fight an infection.

This can reduce the blood supply to vital organs such as the brain, heart and kidneys.

Without quick treatment, sepsis can lead to multiple organ failure and death.

People with a weakened immune system are most at risk of catching a pneumococcal infection.

Early symptoms of sepsis may include: 

• High temperature (fever) or low body temperature 
• Chills and shivering 
• A fast heartbeat 
• Fast breathing

Source: NHS Choices